


Of Fics and Fantasies

by OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: (eventually) - Freeform, Chris introduces Victor to fan fiction, Dorks in Love, Getting Together, M/M, Misunderstanding, Online Communication, Pining, Slow Burn, VictUuri, Victor gets tumblr, Victor is a big shot published author, Yuuri writes fan fic and dreams of being published one day, texting and messaging, this may be a mistake, writers!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-06 06:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10328285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor/pseuds/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor
Summary: Victor is a big shot published author who has lost his motivation. Yuuri is an English teacher who writes fan fictions and has aspirations of being a published author one day. Chris introduces Victor to fan fiction to hopefully get his motivation to write back. Things get interesting when Victor discovers Yuuri's fan fiction of his work...





	1. An Introduction to Fan Fiction

     Victor dropped his head to the keyboard with a groan. He bangs his forehead against the keys a couple times for good measure. Even keyboard smash has to be better writing than what he can produce right now. He glares at the blinking cursor as if it was the cause of all his problems, then pulls out his cell phone to text Chris. Maybe his best friend/editor will have some ideas for his writers block.

**Victor: My muse has deserted me! My life as an author is over. Writer’s block is crushing my soul into a million tiny pieces. Send help. Or coffee.**

            Victor hit send and growled at his computer. Maybe checking Facebook would help. Or Twitter. Or Instagram. Or any other distraction he could find online.

**Chris: On a scale of black to sugar coma, what are we talking today?**

**Victor: Sugar coma.**

**Chris: That bad, huh?**

**Victor: I’m pretty sure my life is over.**

**Chris: I’ll see you in twenty.**

            As promised, Chris arrived in roughly twenty minutes, coffee in hand.

            “I’m not even sure what’s in here,” Chris tells Victor as he hands him the coffee. “I just told the barista to give me the sweetest, most sugary thing on the menu that also contained caffeine.”  Victor takes a tentative sip.

            “Vkusno!”

            “Is your life still ending?” Chris asks.

            “Maybe not my life,” Victor concedes, “but definitely my career. I just don’t _care_ anymore. Yakov wants me to tell the same story over and over again, because that’s what sells. My writing doesn’t have a soul anymore. It’s dead and lifeless and _genre,_ ” Victor says the last word like it’s some type of highly contagious disease.

            “You know we have _genres_ for a reason,” Chris tells him mildly. Victor ignores him.

            “I want to write something that will surprise my readers, keep them coming back because they never know what the next Nikiforov book will be about. But the action, the adventure, the mystery, they expect all of that from me now.”

            “You do realize writing what people want is what pays your rent, right?”

            “Chris! Be serious! I don’t want to write anything right now! My life is in shambles!” Victor declared dramatically. Chris just rolled his eyes.

            “Your life is not in shambles. You just need to take a little break, find something that lights the spark again.”

            “But what?”

            “You could always get lai-“ Chris started before Victor cut him off with a squawk.

            “Chris! We’ve talked about this! I’m not going to do --- that. And you know the suave playboy is all an act for the media, right?”

            “Exactly. I’m just saying, Vic, it might help…” Victor shook his head vehemently, and Chris let the subject drop with a sigh.

            “What about reading something different? You know what they say: ‘Good writers are…’”

            “’Also good readers,” Victor finished with him. “I mean, I read the books that are competing with mine…” he started, but Chris was already shaking his head.

            “No. No, you need something completely different. This is going to sound a little left field, but have you ever tried reading fanfiction?”

            “Fanfiction?” Victor asked quirking an eyebrow at his friend. “Really?”

            “Don’t judge,” Chris huffed. “There’s some really good stuff out there. And it’s my _job_ to know good writing when I see it.”

            “But isn’t it just copying someone else’s idea?” Victor asked, genuinely curious now.

            “No, not really,” Chris said. “It is playing in someone else’s world, which is where things get a little murky. But the really good ones keep the essence that drew the fans in the first place while creating something that is entirely new and different from the original. Or they pick up where the original author left off, and tell an entirely new story. Man, I wish I had a good metaphor…” Chris growled, running a hand through his blonde curls.

            “Ok,” Victor said, dropping back into his chair and spinning to face his laptop. “Where do I find the fanfiction?” Christophe grinned. This was going to be fun.

            “Let’s start you out on AO3…”

 

***

_Hello! My name is Yuri, 23, he/him pronouns, aspiring writer and Victor Nikiforov fanatic. Fan fiction on AO3 under the same name, the-katsudon-writes!_

Yuuri forced himself to close out of tumblr. He had a pile of 9th grade poetry tests to grade before he got a chance to play. His text alert sounded and Yuuri scrambled for the phone, desperate to continue avoiding the tests.

**Phichit: New chapter tonight?**

**Yuri: I have to finish grading the poetry tests before I can post anything.**

**Phichit: Get on that! I need my update! Save me from grading the papers of struggling sophomores.**

**Yuri: Then you have to stop texting me so I can finish these tests and post the update. Work on your papers til then. I’ll even text you the minute I post it.**

**Phichit: Fine, fine. Slave driver.**

Yuuri set his phone and laptop aside, pulling the pile of tests into his lap and grabbing his favorite red pen. Grading the tests shouldn’t take more than an hour, it was just getting into the right mental state to work through them.

**Yuri: Done with the tests! Pretty happy over all, but there were a couple… yikes.**

**Phichit: There’s always a couple yikes. Take a deep breath.**

**Yuri: But Phichit! Do they just not care? Or am I just a horrible teacher?**

**Phichit:  Yuri. We’ve talked about this. You are not a horrible teacher. You care about your students. Poetry probably just isn’t their thing. It’s not my thing. Remember when you were planning this unit and trying to talk to me about all these different poems and the devices and the other things?**

**Phichit: How well did that go?**

**Yuri: About as well as you trying to explain why the chemistry memes are funny.**

**Phichit: Which means…**

**Yuri: Not at all. Ok, thanks, Phichit.**

**Phichit: I’ve got you, bro.**

**Phichit: So, new chapter? Is it up?**

**Yuri: No, not yet. I need to read over it one more time before I post.**

**Phichit: Yuuuuurrriiii! I need to know what happens!**

**Yuri: Well, I know you’ve read the Nikiforov novel this is based on, so…**

**Phichit: You know it’s not the same! Nikiforov writes action/adventure! You write high fantasy!**

**Yuri: I’m just playing in Victor’s sandbox. It’s not even that good.**

**Phichit: Less self-depreciation, more rereading.**

**Phichit: How’s your original stuff coming?**

**Yuri: I thought you wanted less talking more revision?**

**Phichit: Um, yes. But that’s because you tell me about your OCs, but you won’t let me read any of that yet.**

**Yuri: It’s hand written. Do you really want to try and decipher my cursive?**

**Phichit: Yeah, you should get on typing that.**

**Yuri: All in good time.**

**Phichit: Is that new chapter up yet?**

**Yuri: You keep distracting me!**

**Phichit: Fine! Leave me to the woes of underclassmen’s chemistry homework!**

**Yuri: Finish your grading so you can actually read the chapter once I post it.**

**Phichit: Fine. Text me when it’s up.**

            Yuuri purposefully set the phone aside and opened the word document for his current Nikiforov AU. He resisted the urge to open Chrome, knowing that he would be sucked into the endless void of the internet and never finish his revisions if he did. And Phichit would pester him mercilessly until the chapter was posted. One of the downfalls of having an irl friend who reads your fan fiction, Yuuri supposed. The chapter was already written, and he’d been sitting on it for a couple days, so it only took an hour to make sure he was happy with it. Pulling up AO3, Yuuri went to his dashboard and pulled up _On Strange Tides_ his AU of Nikiforov’s _The Sailor’s Ruin._ It was the same general idea if you squinted. The characters were the same. Yuuri loved the characters; that was why he started writing fan fiction. He wanted to explore the backstories that Victor hinted at, but never really touched. (And Yuuri was totally not going to admit that he referred to award winning author Victor Nikiforov as just Victor in his head. Or how often he thought about Victor. Or that he scoured the internet and magazines for any scrap of information about Victor. Nope. Not owning any of that.) So he borrowed Victor’s characters, put them in a completely different situation, and explored their backstories and character development to his heart’s content. His stories were much less plot driven than Victor’s but it seemed to work.

 

***

            “What about this one?” Victor asked Chris.

     “ _On Strange Tides_ ,” he read, “an AU of Victor Nikiforov’s _The Sailor’s Ruin_ set several hundred years before the source material, with more magic. And mermaids.”

     “Oh, is that Yuuri’s story?” Chris asked, looking over his shoulder at the link Victor hovered over.

     “Yuuri? It says the author is the-katsudon-writes…” Victor said, confused.

     “It is Yuuri!”

     “Chris, how do you know this?” Victor asked.

     “I follow him on Tumblr,” Chris said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

     “You actually read fanfiction on a regular basis?” Victor asked, but it wasn’t really a question.

     “Of course. I’m in the publishing industry and it’s a surprisingly good way to scout new talent.”

     “Only you, Chris,” Victor said, shaking his head.

     “Probably,” Chris replied with a smile.

     “How did you get into… this,” Victor gestured vaguely at the computer, “anyway?”

     “I grew up reading Harry Potter just like everyone else,” Chris said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Victor gave a little shake of his head, a non-verbal, ‘so?’.

     “Vic, sometimes I seriously wonder what sort of rock you grew up under.”

     “I did not grow up under a rock!” Victor protested.

     “Victor, darling, I’ve known you since college, and you totally grew up under some sort of rock. I just don’t know what sort,” Chris teased. Victor huffs.

     “Back to the subject at hand…” Victor said pointedly. “Is _On Strange Tides_ worth reading?”

     “Victor,” Chris groaned, “reading the fic and discovering if it’s something you like or something you hate is half the fun! What sort of a friend would I be if I denied you the pleasure of searching for a good fic?”

     “Chris.”

     “If you like fantasy and lots of character development, then yes, read it. I would tell you to check out his Tumblr, because Yuuri is kind of a sweetheart, but I’m kind of afraid to turn you loose on Tumblr.”

     “I handle my social media accounts just fine!” Victor protested.

     “Yes you do,” Chris said, patting Victor on the shoulder. “Tumblr is… an interesting place. Why don’t you read the fic first, and if you want to creep on the author after that, I’ll help you navigate Tumblr.”

     “Deal!” Victor said excitedly, grabbing Chris’ hand and shaking it enthusiastically. Chris just rolled his eyes.

     “I’ m going home, Vic, but I started you a pot of coffee,” Chris said, patting Victor affectionately on the shoulder. Victor just hummed, already engrossed in the story.

     “I may have created a monster,” Chris muttered softly to himself as he slipped out of the apartment.

***

**Yuri: Next chapter is up.**

**Phichit: !!!!!!!**


	2. Writing Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor makes questionable life choices when it comes to 'one more chapter' and Christophe makes good on his promise to introduce Victor to tumblr.

ice-ice-giacometti:

                Heads up, I might have sicced a friend on your fics, and he’ll probably try to hit you up here. He can be a bit… overenthusiastic, but he’s harmless, promise.

the-katsudon-writes:

                lol, thanks Chris. I’ll keep that in mind. What’s his url?

ice-ice-giacometti:

                I’ll let you know when he sets up a tumblr to stalk you.

the-katsudon-writes:

                Are you sure I shouldn’t be concerned? And he doesn’t have a tumblr?!?!

ice-ice-giacometti:

                I know, I know. He lives under a rock. But really, he’s a good guy.

the-katsudon-writes:

                k, I’ll keep that in mind.

 

***

 

Victor carefully set his lap top down before flopping back onto the couch with a groan. Makkachin, sleeping on the rug, woke up enough to look at him with concern.

     “I’m ok,” Victor told the dog, “but it’s now 3:47 AM and this probably wasn’t my best life choice ever.” Not that he technically had to be up at any certain time. But if he slept too late, it seemed to throw his whole day off.

**Victor: Chhhhrrrriiiiiiisssss!**

**Victor: Why? Why would you do this to me? It’s soooo late! And I might have read all of On Strange Tides… And a couple other things.**

**Victor: But then I discovered that the-katsudon-writes has MORE fics. But I have to sleep.**

**Victor: But I want to read.**

**Victor: And you said I can’t do the tumblr without your supervision.**

**Victor: Text me when you get up.**

            A cold, wet nose is Victor’s alarm clock and he squirms away from Makkachin with a groan. This was not unusual. What was unusual was how stiff and achy he was. Apparently, 27 is too old to spend a night on the couch. Makkachin whined, and Victor swing his feet onto the floor.

            “It’s ok, baby, it’s ok. I’m coming,” he reassured the poodle. Makkachin bounced back and forth between Victor and the door while Victor searched for his phone. Victor located the phone under the couch and hurriedly shoved it into his pocket as he slipped into his shoes and clipped the leash to Makkachin’s collar. Once they were safely outside, Victor risked pulling his phone out of his pocket to check for messages from Chris. He had several.

**Chris: I checked the time stamp. Seriously?**

**Chris: You haven’t responded, I hope that means you’re sleeping.**

**Chris: Not that you got pulled into another novel-length work of fic.**

**Chris: You called it the tumblr. There is no way I am letting you onto that hell-site unsupervised. I’ll be over when I get off work.**

**Chris: Promise me you’ll do something productive today. Send me a word-count goal. Any topic. And pics or it didn’t happen.**

Victor smiled at the messages. Christophe had a tendency to be the Mom Friend ™ even though he was a couple years younger than Victor. He snapped a picture of Makkachin on the leash and sent that to Chris to prove that he had indeed left his apartment before sending an actual message.

 **Victor: You brought coffee yesterday, so I’ll make supper tonight.** Chris responded almost immediately.

**Chris: By make I hope you mean order, because you almost set my apartment on fire the last time you tried to make something more advanced than college-kid microwave food.**

**Victor: You wound me!**

**Victor: But yeah, I was thinking Chinese take-out. Mongolian beef for you, peanut butter chicken for me, lots of fried rice and crab rangoons to split.**

**Chris: Sounds like a plan.**

*******

            Phichit sidled over to Yuuri while they were both on lunch supervision duty. Yuuri tried not to roll his eyes, knowing exactly what his best friend wanted to talk about.

            “Not loudly,” Yuuri warned him quietly once Phichit was close. The Thai chemist just grinned broadly at him.

            “You act like it’s some kind of deep dark secret,” Phichit teased, but he moderated his usually enthusiastic volume for Yuuri.

            “It is a deep, dark secret,” Yuuri muttered, eyes roaming the cafeteria.

            “But, Yuuri, you’re so good!” Phichit protested.

            “Yeah, but I want the students to know about this even less than I want them to know about the rest of my personal life, which is not at all,” Yuuri repeated, the same conversation he had with Phichit every time he updated. Phichit just nodded along, familiar with the spiel. Yuuri just had to get the disclaimer out of his system before he would let Phichit really rave about it. (Not that Phichit didn’t rave on tumblr as well, but there was something about telling the author himself, in person, and watching Yuuri’s ears turn red with the praise. How could Phichit resist?) Yuuri darted off to explain to yet another couple why sitting on your significant other’s lap wasn’t an appropriate choice for the lunchroom, and Phichit took another lap of the lunchroom, looking for any trouble.

          “How is this whole mer-relationship thing going to work?” Phichit asked without preamble as soon as he and Yuuri were back in the same area.

          “That would be telling,” Yuuri said. Phichit didn’t miss the satisfied little smirk that crept across his best friend’s face.

          “You are such a tease!” Phichit hissed, mostly to watch Yuuri turn bright red.

          “Phichit! I am not! It’s called building tension,” Yuuri protested.

          “You can use your English-y words all you want, it doesn’t change the facts,” Phichit teased.

         “But I’m getting the desired reaction,” Yuuri said. “It makes you want to keep reading.”

         “That is true,” Phichit acknowledged. “You are very talented.”

         “I wouldn’t say that…” Yuuri muttered, shuffling his feet. Phichit shoved his shoulder lightly.

        “Yuuri! We’ve talked about this. You’re a good writer! You just need to have a little confidence in yourself. And let me send out your original work.”

        “It… it’s not good enough yet!” Yuuri protested.

        “Your fics are good enough.”

       “My fics get read because people are interested in the original content!” Yuuri said, but Phichit was already shaking his head.

      “They show up because they’re interested in the original content. They stay for you. Except me. I came for you in the first place,” Phichit said cheerfully. “Do you even read your comments? Because I do. All of them, because I’m a good friend. People like your writing. They like your character development.”

     “I am kind of a slut for character development,” Yuuri says. Phichit rolls his eyes.

     “I _know_. You always go to character development when you talk about something you like. And you always use that phrase because you feel like it’s a little bit scandalous,” Phichit said. Yuuri had the grace to look slightly ashamed, before he responded,

    “But it’s true! I will read or watch just about anything if it has good character development…”

      “Or you’ll adopt it and write fan fiction if it doesn’t…” Phichit teased. “And I’ve seen your tumblr, you bring home head cannons like they’re stray kittens you find on the side of the road.” The bell rang, and students streamed out of the cafeteria.

      “Are we still on for Psych tonight?” Phichit asked, before the headed to their respective classrooms.

      “Of course! Like I would miss bonding night. When is your lease up again?” Yuuri asked.

      “In about a month. Then we can be roommates again!” The two minute warning bell sounded, and both teachers hurried to their next class.

***

            Chris sat with his feet propped in Victor’s lap, finishing his Mongolian beef. He fished a fortune cookie out of the bag on the floor and tossed it at Victor’s head.

      “Let’s see what your fortune is today, hmm?”

      “Only if you open yours at the same time, Chris.”  Wrappers crinkled and cookies snapped.

     “Well?” Chris asked.

    “‘Now is the time to try something new’,” Victor read.

    “In bed,” Chris muttered.

    “Chris! Aren’t we too old for this game?”

    “I’m never too old for this game,” Chris smirked. “Mine is ‘the greatest risk is not taking one.’ In bed.”

    “You’re incorrigible, you know that?” Victor asked his friend.

     “Yes, but you love me anyway,” Chris said with a smile.

     “That’s what you think…” Victor muttered. Christophe tossed a pillow at his head.

    “You know you love me,” he said again. “Besides, who else is going to teach you how to use tumblr so you can stalk your new writing crush?”

     “I do not have a writing crush!” Victor protested.

     “You totally have a writing crush,” Christophe told him. “This is just like when you discovered Rainbow Rowell and didn’t sleep more than a couple hours for a week, because you just _had_ to read everything she’d ever written. And let’s not even talk about when you discovered Jane Austen in college.”

    "It wasn’t that bad,” Victor pouted.

     “It was!” Chris said. “You woke me up at three in the morning to cry about how perfect Mr. Darcy is!”

     “Well, he is..,” Victor murmured.

     “Not starting that discussion right now,” Chris said firmly. “And what about when you go on your Tolkien binges? You get writing crushes, and you totally have one on Yuri.” Victor was still pouting a little, looking at Chris from underneath those long silver eyelashes.

     “Vic, honey, when was the last time your puppy dog eyes worked on me? But because I’m such a good friend, I’m going to help you tumblr stalk your writing crush. Just try not to come on too strong, ok? I get the feeling that he’s kind of shy.”

     “His writing isn’t shy.”

     “No, but that’s how he comes off when I started chatting with him,” Chris said.

     “You’ve talked to him?” Victor asked with wide eyes.

     “Chatted,” Chris corrected, “and yes, a little, on tumblr. I know he’s got an original novel in progress, and I think it could be good. Like really good. And, as an editor, I want it. So I’m low-key tumblr friends with him.”

“You’re just using him for his book?” Victor asked, horrified.

     “Of course not! Do you have so little faith in me, Victor? I genuinely like the kid. I just want him to be confident enough to show his original writing. And he knows I edit, so no sneaky stuff there. But fair warning, my job isn’t super public, because I don’t want everyone tossing every scrap of writing they’ve ever created at me, so if you could keep that in mind once we get you set up?”

     “Of course,” Victor said. “Can we do that now?”

     “Eager, aren’t you?” Chris laughed, shaking his head at Victor. “Did you even read any other fan fiction?”

     “I did, actually. But nothing drew me in quite like _On Strange Tides._ I might have commented on every chapter. Maybe I do have a little bit of a writing crush…” Victor mused.

     “Duh.” Christophe rolled his eyes. Swinging his feet out of Victor’s lap, he scooted closer to the other man on the couch before digging his own laptop out of his messenger bag. He pulled up his own tumblr account to walk Victor through the process.

     “Why are so many iterations of my name taken?” Victor whined.

     “Because you’re a famous author with fans and people who want to emulate you. Only people who don’t really know you, of course,” Chris teased mercilessly. “It just means we need to be more creative with your handle.”

 

***

     “Phichit, someone left comments on every chapter of _On Stranger Tides_. Good, well thought out ones,” Yuuri said.

     “That’s awesome, man,” Phichit said from where he knelt in front of the TV, setting up their weekly Psych marathon.

 

vkusno-writing-crush is now following the-katsudon-writes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like Yuuri, I am a slut for character development, and that's why I write fan fic... come say hi to me on tumblr @onceandalwaysenglishmajor!


	3. Enthusiastic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More BFF interactions and Yuuri's response to Victor's reaction to his fics, and his overly-enthusiastic tumblr introduction. Chris is long-suffering.

          Yuuri had very specific policies about commenting on fics. If he read it, he had to leave at least some sort of comment. If someone commented on one of his fics, he had to reply to the comment. In some ways, writing fan fiction was one of the most encouraging things Yuuri had ever done as a writer. To actually get feedback… it was like a drug. A positive drug. Still, Yuuri wasn’t expecting to open up his email and have _thirty_ notifications from AO3. He scrolled down to where the AO3 emails started, so he could go through them in order. It had to be a first time reader, or a binge-reader, or both. He did a bit of a double take at the handle, _v-nikiforov_ , but quickly shook it off. That someone would have a Victor-inspired handle wasn’t that surprising, the man had a lot of fans, and they made up a lot of Yuuri’s readership, so it wasn’t a big deal that someone was using v-nikiforov as a username. Or so Yuuri told himself. It still took a couple minutes for his heart rate to return to normal.

         “Phichit, someone left comments on every chapter of _On Stranger Tides_. Good, well thought out ones,” Yuuri said.

          “That’s awesome, man,” Phichit said from where he knelt in front of the TV, setting up their weekly Psych marathon.

            “The user name is v-nikiforov,” Yuuri said. Phichit stopped fiddling with the TV and stared at Yuuri.

            “Really?” Phichit asks. Yuuri nods.

            “I mean, I know it’s not _him,_ but I still had a minor momentary heart attack.”

            “Of course you did!” Phichit laughs. “How else would you react if your idol, whose books you write fan fiction for, suddenly started to comment on those fics?”

            “I would die,” Yuuri says solemnly.

            “You did say they were good comments,” Phichit reminded him.

            “All the more reason to die,” Yuuri said. “Can you even imagine Victor’s response to discovering fan fiction of his work?”

            “Well, if your commenter really was Victor, then his response would be positive, and how cool would that be?” Phichit said.

            “Death,” Yuuri reiterated. Phichit playfully jostled his shoulder as he curled up next to Yuuri on the couch.

            “Have I told you recently that you’re horribly dramatic sometimes?”

            “Not today,” Yuuri told him cheerfully.

            “Yuuri, sometimes you’re horribly dramatic,” Phichit said, tucking his bare feet under Yuuri’s thigh. He hit play on the remote.

            “Now, let me see these well thought out comments that I know you’re going to spend the whole evening answering,”

 

***

            “Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris!” Victor chants, shaking his best friend who dozed off somewhere in the middle of their movie.

            “Victor. What?” Christophe asks blearily, blinking to clear his vision, and wishing he was wearing his glasses instead of contacts.

            “He replied to me!” Victor chirped. The man is practically vibrating with excitement.

            “Who replied to you?” Chris asks suspiciously, still not fully awake. “What did you do?”

            “Um, I just commented on that fic. You already knew this,” Victor reminds Christophe reproachfully. “Look!” He turns his laptop to show Christophe an inbox full of notifications from AO3.

            “You’re lucky that comments are like crack to fic writers, or commenting on every single chapter might be a creepy,” Chris tells him.

            “So… theoretically… on someplace that _isn’t_ AO3… what is an appropriate level of commenting?” Victor asked with far too much studied casualness. Chris ran a hand through his already messy curls.

            “Victor Nikiforov, what did you do while I was asleep?” he asked sternly.

            “What makes you think I did anything?” Victor asked defensively.

            “Victor,” Chris repeats with long-suffering patience. This is not his first time having this conversation.

            “Fine,” Victor said with a bit of a pout. “I might have reblogged and commented on some of Yuuri’s posts on the tumblr. He does invite people to his tumblr at the end of every chapter. I was just accepting his invitation!”

            “How many is some?” Chris asked. “And did you reblog anything else, or does your entire tumblr currently consist of one person? Also, if you call it ‘the tumblr’ one more time, I am going to friend break-up with you.”

            “Have some faith in me, Chris! I reblogged some other things too, because you told me not to come on too strong, that he’s shy. And I’ve been told I can be a bit overwhelming at times,” Victor finished quietly. Chris slung an arm around his friend’s shoulder and gave him a light squeeze.

            “Yeah, you are, but its all part of your charm,” Chris told him affectionately. “What’s got you so focused on Yuuri, anyway? This is about finding your inspiration again, remember?”

            “That’s the thing,” Victor told Chris, “I don’t know _why._ I haven’t figured it out yet. And you know how I get…”

            “Mmm hmmm,” Chris hums, making a mental note to message Yuuri that his newest follower isn’t really a crazy stalker. Introducing his occasionally super extra irl friend to his internet friends might not have been Chris’ best idea ever. But if it helped Victor get out of his slump, it would totally be worth it.

            “You’ll figure it out,” he told Victor comfortingly. “You always do.”

 

***

 

            Yuuri finished responding to v-nikiforov’s comments and clicked over to his tumblr. 54 notifications? His tumblr never got this much activity, what had he posted? He clicked the lightning bolt icon to check his activity.

vkusno-writing-crush reblogged your text post

vkusno-writing-crush liked your chat

vkusno-writing-crush reblogged…

vkusno-writing-crush commented…

vkusno-writing-crush…

vkusno-writing-crush…

vkusno-writing-crush…

            And it just kept going. For 54 different posts. At least a solid month back in Yuuri’s tumblr history.

            “Phichit? Check this out. Should I be worried?” Yuuri shoved his laptop into Phichit’s lap.  Phichit scanned the activity.

            “Aw, somebody has a fan! No tags on any of it, let’s check the comments… positive, reblogged a lot of your writing stuff…Don’t you ever scroll a ridiculously long way back when you find a tumblr you like? I know you do, remember when you found the Fullmetal Alchemist Texts from Last Night? Or Texts from Last Night in general?” Phichit asked.

            “We agreed not to talk about that!” Yuuri hissed. “It’s a weakness, I know. And I did go on a bit of a reblog binge. But you think its ok?”

            “They don’t seem like a creeper,” Phichit shrugged. “Are you going to follow them back?”

            “Not yet. Maybe once I see what they post that isn’t mine,” Yuuri said.

 

***

 

v-nikiforov on Chapter 1

            I’m already intrigued by this version of the story. I never considered this sort of a setting for the characters, but I can already tell that they’re really going to shine. I’m looking forward to reading more of this world you’re creating!

            the-katsudon-writes on Chapter 1

                        Thank-you! I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Lots more world-building to come. J

 

***

ice-ice-giacometti:

                How much do I need to apologize for my friend? I showed him how to work tumblr, but he was left unattended when I fell asleep during movie night…

ice-ice-giacometti:

                His handle is vkusno-writing-crush, btw.

the-katsudon-writes:

                haha, yeah, he might have reblogged like a month’s worth of content

the-katsudon-writes:

                I was a little confused.

the-katsudon-writes:

                my tumblr never gets that much traffic, to have 54 notifications

ice-ice-giacometti:

                *face palm*

the-katsudon-writes:

                Is he really just that enthusiastic?

Ice-ice-giacometti:

                You have no idea.

 


	4. Be a little patient

v-nikiforov:

            How did you decided that Jonah would be that compassionate to Aubrielle? He’s so rude and impulsive, I wouldn’t have expected him to that gentle with her, but it somehow fits? And I can’t help but feel that you have some yet unrevealed and probably tragic backstory tucked away for Jonah…

            the-katsudon-writes:

                        He is brash and impulsive, though I personally think his rudeness stems from not being great in social situations and not understanding how speaking his mind could be hurtful to those around him. And he cares very deeply, which is why I had him be so gentle with Aubrielle. She was hurting, and while he would never outright admit it, it was breaking Jonah’s heart. So he was compassionate because he is impulsive, and very driven to fix things. As for a tragic backstory… well, you’ll just have to wait and see. ;)

 

            “He’s teasing me, Christophe!” Victor declared dramatically, clutching his chest. Christophe sighs quietly.

            “What now?” he asked, not bothering to look up from his laptop.     

            “I’m sure Yuuri has some sort of tragic backstory planned for Jonah, but he won’t confirm or deny it! And he used a winky face! What does that _mean_ , Chris?”

            “That he doesn’t like sharing spoilers any more than you do. It’s payback for the agony you put me through, letting me read half-finished things, and then refusing to tell me what happens,” Chris said, fingers tapping away, eyes never leaving the screen. Victor set his laptop carefully to the side so he could flop dramatically on the couch. Chris finally looks at him, nonplussed.

            “You’ve been watching anime again, haven’t you?” Chris asked flatly.

            “Notice me, senpai,” Victor whines from the couch. Chris just rolls his eyes.

            “He’s responding to you, isn’t he? And I’m pretty sure you’re talking on tumblr too?” Chris questions. Victor blushes just a little.

            “I mean, I wouldn’t exactly say we’re _talking_ ,” Victor mutters. “I do message him _occasionally._ ”

            “Has he started to send you things back yet?” Chris asked, focus once again on his computer.

            “Noooooo,” Victor moaned, face still buried in the couch cushions.

            “And you’ve calmed down on reblogging everything he posts?”

            “Yeeeeessss,” Victor said. The typing stopped, and Victor could feel Chris staring at him. Victor rolls over and looks at Chris upside down.

            “Victor, what are you looking for?” Chris asked, suddenly serious.

            “What do you mean?” Victor asks, flipping his feet off the couch to stare at Chris right side up.

            “Is this still just a writing crush?” Chris asked bluntly.

            “WHAT?!” Victor squawked. “Yes? What else would it be?” Chris closed his laptop, a sure sign that the conversation turned serious.

            “Maybe an actual crush?” Chris asked, subconsciously pushing his glasses back up his nose. Victor shook his head emphatically.

            “No, it’s not that. I mean, I am drawn to him, but it’s… it’s his writing style, the way he weaves words into emotions. I can plot, I can see a clear string of events that connect the beginning of the story to the end. I see the road map. But I can’t write emotion like that. Hell, I can barely write emotion. What emotion there is, is there because it advances the plot. The characters need to feel a specific way so that they act a certain way that will get them to the next stop on my map! There’s no real depth there, and I know it! But Yuuri, Yuuri writes with _so much_ emotion, it’s just _beautiful._ I want to get close to that, I want to understand how he writes characters that care _so much._ How he makes my characters care so much,” Victor said, pausing to catch his breath. “I just want to _know_ him, you know? I want to be his friend.” Chris studied his friend silently until Victor began to fidget.

            “Oh boy,” Chris muttered softly. He reached out and patted Victor gently on the shoulder. “Just… be patient, ok, Vic? Friendship takes time, and online friendships are weird. Keep taking things slow, ok?” Chris switched from patting Victor’s shoulder to rubbing his back.

            “Ok,” Victor said despondently.

            “To change the subject slightly and hopefully not make things worse,” Christophe started, “how’s writing coming? Still blocked?” Victor made a non-committal noise.

            “Use your words,” Christophe prodded.

            “I have a few ideas,” Victor said, “but nothing concrete. I’ve been playing with prompts so I’m at least writing something. Maybe I’ll try my hand at some fan fic,” he said with a small smile. Chris kept rubbing his back.

            “You’ll get it figured out, I know you will.”

 

***

 

            Yuuri tapped lightly on his keyboard, not actually typing anything, just thinking.

“Are you talking to the internet boy again?” Phichit asked, causing Yuuri to jump.

“W-w-what?” Yuuri stuttered.

“You know, the one that started hard core reblogging everything you’d ever posted, then started low key sending you messages? Are you mutuals yet? Do you think he’s the same one who’s been leaving comments on every chapter of your fics? He did start following you around the same time, and you do put it in your notes to come yell at you on tumblr…” Phichit said. Yuuri blinked, taking a moment to sort through all of Phichit’s questions.

            “Yes, we’re mutuals, no, I hadn’t considered that they might be the same person. And no, I’m not talking to them right now, I was trying to work on the next chapter,” Yuuri told Phichit. But his fingers twitched as he contemplated opening tumblr to see if vkusno-writing-crush had sent him anything recently. He wasn’t having any luck writing, so why not? He opened the tab. Phichit cleared his throat and Yuuri glanced up at him guiltily.

“You’re totally on tumblr now,” Phichit said. “Since you’re already there, you need to get more information so I can properly creep. Like, does he have a twitter? Instagram? Where does he live? Do you know his name?”

“Phichit! I am not going to ask some random person on the internet personal questions just so you can creep their social media!”

“But you are going to ask personal questions?” Phichit asked, latching on to Yuuri’s ambiguous phrasing.

“I’ve taught you too much,” Yuuri groaned. “And no, I’m not asking personal questions, exactly. We’ve started talking about writing lately. I think he writes. And for most writers, well, it’s personal. It’s part of who they are. You know I write because I have to, it’s like breathing, and I may not always want to do it, but I can’t live without it, so here I am. And no, we haven’t talked about anything personal yet.”

“Yet,” Phichit repeats, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Yuuri groaned again, hiding his face in his hands.

“What do you think is going to happen?” he asked Phichit.

“Coffee shop meet-cute. Staring deep into each other’s eyes and discussing Victor Nikiforov’s latest novel. And I finally fulfill my dream of being your best man!” Phichit said happily.

“Phichit!” Yuuri squeaked, turning red. “I can’t believe you! I don’t even know him! And I am not marrying some random person I met on _tumblr_! A handful of conversations about fan fic and literature does not mean I’m getting married! Chill much? Sheesh!” Yuuri could feel the heat radiating from his face. Phichit just grinned.

“Say what you want, I can have my dreams!” Phichit told him.

“Phichit. First of all, of course you’re going to be my best man. But you need to stop shipping me with random people,” Yuuri told him.

“Whatever you say, Yuuri,” Phichit said.

“I’m serious,” Yuuri said.

“Oh, I know you are,” Phichit grinned. “Go back to talking to your internet boy.”

“He’s not my internet boy!” Yuuri protested, pretending that he wasn’t sending a link to vkusno-writing-crush as they spoke. (It was about writing! He would enjoy it!). Phichit wisely chose to ignore it.

 

***

 

the-katsudon-writes:

            [link] I don’t know if you’ve seen this, it’s an analysis of _The Sailor’s Ruin_ I thought you might like…

vkusno-writing-crush:

            Thank you! I’m going to read it right now!

vkusno-writing-crush:

            That was really well thought out. I didn’t know there was so much meta about this novel on tumblr…

the-katsudon-writes:

            Yeah. I’m not boring you, right? It seemed like you liked his work…

vkusno-writing-crush:

            No! Not at all! I like hearing your perspective on things.

the-katsudon-writes:

            Oh, ok. I mean, it’s not like I have any special insight or anything. Just my own thoughts.

vkusno-writing-crush:

            I like your thoughts.


	5. Are We Friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More talking, basically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the summary said, mostly more talking, maybe I should add the slow burn tag? Anyway, hope you all still enjoy it!

Yuuri tapped his fingers against the keyboard, a nervous habit. Could he really do this? Was he really going to ask? It wasn’t even like he was asking for a real name. He just wanted to get Phichit and his crazy theories off his back, Yuuri told himself. Taking a deep breath, Yuuri typed his question and hit send before he could reconsider.

the-katsudon-writes:

            So, I know this is really random, but, would you happen to be v-nikiforov on AO3?

 

            Yuuri immediately clicked out of tumblr, there was no way he would be caught online if (when) writing-crush-vkusno replied.  That didn’t stop him from checking his phone for notifications roughly every three minutes. Yuuri groaned.

            “Why am I being so ridiculous?” he asked the empty apartment. “It’s a yes or no question, and not even personal! I think Phichit’s crazy is starting to rub off on me.” His phone chimed, and Yuuri dived for it, instantly recognizing the tumblr notification alert. Only a reblog. Yuuri sighed.

            “Ok, take the crazy down a notch, and do something productive. Work on your power points for next week’s classes. And turn the sound off on your phone.” Yuuri nodded decisively. He silenced his phone, set it aside, and opened PowerPoint on his laptop.

 

***

            Victor grinned as he read Yuuri’s question, irrationally pleased that Yuuri had connected his online personas.

the-katsudon-writes:

            So, I know this is really random, but, would you happen to be v-nikiforov on AO3?

vkusno-writing-crush:

            Yes! How did you know?

 

            Victor sent the message and tried not to stare at the open personal message box in the corner of his screen.

 

**Victor: Yuri knows that v-nikiforov on AO3.**

**Chris: So? He still doesn’t know that you’re you, right?**

**Victor: …**

**Victor: No…**

**Chris: Then what’s the big deal?**

**Victor: …**

**Chris: Victor. Really?**

**Chris: You want him to know that you’re THE Victor Nikiforov?**

**Victor: I don’t know!**

**Victor: I want him to like me for me!**

**Victor: And I know he’s a pretty big fanboy.**

**Victor: His tumblr says as much.**

**Victor: I don’t know what I want, Chris!**

**Chris: Calm down, Vic. It will be all right.**

**Chris: It’s not like he’s asking for your real identity.**

**Chris: That’s the beauty of the internet: anonymity.**

**Chris: So calm down.**

**Chris: You can always just stop talking to him.**

**Victor: I couldn’t do that!**

**Chris: Uh huh. So calm down.**

Victor set his phone aside, not sure if his conversation with Chris had been helpful or not. What did he want from Yuuri? _I want to be his friend,_ Victor thought. _He’s the flame and I’m the moth, and I just want to be as close as I can to his light._ Victor grabbed a notebook and wrote that last thought down. It was a good line. A bit cliché maybe, but still a good line. His mind started turning, looking for a situation that would fit that line. Almost without conscious thought, he started jotting down potential scenarios, and the characters that could fill those scenarios, and the sort of conflict that could put them in that situation to begin with. Looking back at his notes, Victor frowned. It almost looked like… a romance. He’d never written romance. There was no surprise in it. Boy meets girl (or boy, as writers got with the times) they fell in love, there was a conflict, which would ultimately be overcome so they could live happily ever after. It was a formula, it worked, and Victor found it boring. He frowned at his notes again before closing the notebook and making the decision to worry about it later. Tapping his laptop to wake it up, he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face when he saw that Yuuri had responded.

the-katsudon-writes:

            I wish I could take the credit for figuring it out, but I totally can’t. It was my best friend. He is a social media god and made the connection between v-nikiforov’s comments and vkusno-writing-crush following me on tumblr.

the-katsudon-writes:

            What made you choose v-nikiforov as a handle?

the-katsudon-writes:

            if you don’t mind me asking

the-katsudon-writes:

            you don’t have to tell me or anything

the-katsudon-writes:

            that might have been too personal

the-katsudon-writes:

            I’m sorry

the-katsudon-writes:

            You totally don’t have to answer

the-katsudon-writes:

            I’ll just go now.

vkusno-writing-crush:

            Don’t go!

vkusno-writing-crush:

            I don’t mind you asking.

vkusno-writing-crush:

            I feel a connection to his writing, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe not so much in hindsight.

vkusno-writing-crush:

            That will probably be my epithet: “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

the-katsudon-writes:

lol

vkusno-writing-crush:

            Yuri! You didn’t leave forever!

the-katsudon-writes:

            Nah. I’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with crippling embarrassment.

vkusno-writing-crush:

            you don’t have to be embarrassed to ask me anything.

the-katsudon-writes:

            Duly noted.

the-katsudon-writes:

            In that vein, and at the risk of having to crawl under an embarrassment rock and stay there forever, what do I call you? Or if you want me to stick to one of your handles, that’s fine too. *readies embarrassment rock*

vkusno-writing-crush:

            No need to live under an embarrassment rock! My friends call me Vic.

the-katsudon-writes:

            Vic it is then.

vkusno-writing-crush:

            Does that make us friends, then? :D

the-katsudon-writes:

            Well, we’re mutual, we’ve exchanged names… I would say that counts as friendship.

vkusno-writing-crush:

            <3 <3 :D :D :D !!!!

the-katsudon-writes:

            I’m not sure why you’re so excited, but I’m flattered.

 

***

**Victor: Chris!!! We’re friends!!!**

**Chris: Congrats**

***

            “You were right, Phichit. Vkusno-writing-crush and v-nikiforov are the same person,” Yuuri told his friend.

            “Called it!” Phichit cheered from somewhere under a mountain of chemistry homework. A thin strip of empty table separated Yuuri and Phichit’s workspace. Midterm grades were almost due, which meant mountains of grading for both of them.

            “Yes, yes you did,” Yuuri said. “He asked if we were friends…”

            “Oh? What did you tell him?” Phichit asked, bright dark eyes appearing over a pile of books.

            “That we’re mutual, and we swapped names, that make us friends,” Yuuri said. Phichit let out a long whistle, which made Yuuri blush.

            “You swapped names, huh? Do you have something for me to work with?”

            “Phichit! You really should have been in the FBI or CIA or something, as much as you stalk people…”

            “I prefer to keep my amateur status,” Phichit said without missing a beat. “Besides, is it really stalking if they put the information on the internet in the first place? I just happen to be good at connecting the dots!”

            “Phichit! What am I going to do with you?” Yuuri asked with a laugh.

            “Give me the name, so I can see what I can do with it!” Phichit responded.

            “I’m not sure I should…” Yuuri teased.

            “Yuuuurrrrriiii!” Phichit groaned.

            “Phichit.”

            “C’mon, man! Spill,” Phichit begged.

            “Fine, fine,” Yuuri relented. “Vic. He said his name is Vic.”

            “Vic,” Phichit hummed. “I’ll see what I can find.”     


	6. Every Hufflepuff Needs a Slytherin Bestie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phichit takes things into his own hands, because someone has to look after Yuuri, right?

     Phichit was very good at finding out information. He took great pride in his ability to find every scrap of information about a person available on the internet. It was one of his hidden talents, unlike his selfie game, which was a gift to the entire world. And usually he respected people’s online anonymity. But Yuuri’s new friend was a different matter. Because Phichit was president of the Protect Yuri Katsuki Squad, a role he had officially embraced in college. Almost from the first day he met Yuuri, in freshman orientation, when the Japanese boy looked like he expected to be eaten alive. Phichit knew in that moment they were going to be best friends.

_“Phichit Chulanont,” Phichit said, thrusting his hand out to Yuuri._

_“Yuuri Katsuki,” the other boy answered softly._

_“I want to teach chemistry, what about you? I know it’s an ed major of some sort, they lumped all of us in this group because we’re ed majors,” Phichit said._

_“English ed,” Yuuri said, voice still barely above a whisper. “I want to teach high school.” Phichit’s eyebrows leapt up into his hair line._

_“Aren’t you afraid high schoolers will eat you alive?” he asked bluntly. Yuuri shook his head, and Phichit saw determination burning in his eyes._

_“No. They’re just learning how to express themselves, and I can help them do that, I can give them tools to relate to the world,” Yuuri said passionately. Phichit laughed._

_“You’re going to do all right, Yuuri Katsuki. And we’re going to be best friends.”_

 

     As Yuuri’s best friend, it was Phichit’s sworn duty to look out for him. Hence why he was using all of his creeping skills to dig out information on this ‘Vic’ person. Yuuri didn’t make friends easily, and he didn’t take it lightly. And Yuuri had definitely passed the point of ‘casual internet friendship’ a while back. Yuuri was a Hufflepuff through and through, Phichit thought. And as his Slytherin bestie, it’s my job to make sure no one is taking advantage of that sweet, loyal nature. But the issue remained that he just didn’t have enough information to go off. But Phichit was never one to let a little detail like that stop him. If the sneaky route wasn’t available, he’d just have to be direct.

 

LordOfTheHamsters:

            Hi! I’m Phichit and I’m a friend of Yuri’s! And I think you’re the real Victor Nikiforov.

LordOfTheHamsters:

            Don’t worry, I won’t rat you out to Yuri.

LordOfTheHamsters:

            He’s such a fan boy, he’d freak!

LordOfTheHamsters:

            Just be careful with him, ok?

LordOfTheHamsters:

            He invests a lot into friendships.

LordOfTheHamsters:

            And this seems like more than just a casual online friendship, from an outside perspective.

LordOfTheHamsters:

            Message me back! I’ve been friends with Yuri since college, I have all the dirt!

LordOfTheHamsters:

            Oh, and if you really are Victor Nikiforov, let me know when you plan to tell Yuri? Because I’d like to record his reaction. It’s going to be priceless!

Phichit hit enter. It was a pretty stalkerish message, even for him, but if it kept Yuuri from getting hurt, it was totally worth it. And if his hunch was right, and it really _was_ Victor Nikiforov reading fan fiction of his own work and stalking Yuuri’s tumblr… well then, life might get a whole lot more interesting.

*** 

      Victor reread the message for the fifteenth time. Yep, it was still there. He clicked on the user name and skimmed through the blog. Phichit seemed to follow at least twenty-three fandoms, have an obsession with chemistry memes, and no problem sharing several selfies a day and linking to all of his other social media. He _seemed_ harmless enough. But what was he supposed to do about this?

 

**Victor: Are you coming over tonight?**

**Victor: there’s a bit of a… situation.**

**Victor: I just got the weirdest tumblr message ever.**

**Victor: And I don’t know what to do about it.**

**Chris: From Yuri?**

**Victor: No.**

**Victor: From someone called Phichit who says they’re Yuri’s friend… and they know who I am.**

**Chris: WHAT**

**Victor: Right?**

**Victor: I mean, he doesn’t know for sure, he’s just guessing**

**Victor: But he’s not wrong.**

**Victor: What do I DO**

**Chris: Breath, first of all.**

**Chris: Go get snacks.**

**Chris: I’ll be over after work, we’ll sort things out from there.**

**Victor: Thanks, Chris.**

**Chris: Hey. You got this. I’m just the sounding board.**

**Victor: <3**

     Chris started chuckling as soon as he read Phichit’s message.

     “Forward, isn’t he?” Pulling out his own laptop, Christophe opened Phichit’s tumblr.

     “He has his Hogwarts house in his description… Slytherin… that actually explains a lot.”

      “Does it?” Victor asked, not sure where his friend was going with this, or why Chris found his crisis so amusing.

      “You did _read_ Harry Potter, right?” Chris asked.

      “Aren’t Slytherins the bad guys?” Victor said, frowning. Chris sighed and shook his head.

      “I’ve failed you, my friend. The answer is ‘not necessarily’. Being a Slytherin doesn’t make someone inherently bad. More of the villains in the series do happen to be Slytherin, though, because they tend to like power and be driven to get it.”

      “I don’t think this is helping,” Victor said. “Should I be scared of Yuuri’s friend?”

      “Not necessarily,” Chris answered.

      “Not helping,” Victor mumbled. Chris just laughed.

      “Look at it this way: he cares about Yuuri enough to message you because of how much you’ve been talking to Yuuri. Is that someone you really want to mess with?” Chris asked.

     “Well, no…” Victor said slowly. “But I would never do anything to hurt Yuuri! We’re friends!”

      “Uh huh,” Chris said resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Personally, he thought Yuuri and Victor were something more than friends, though what exactly he couldn’t be sure. Apparently this Phichit thought the same, or he wouldn’t have messaged Victor. But it wouldn’t do any good to tell Victor this. Chris let it slide, and followed Phichit’s links to his other social media.

     “Hmm, he’s cute,” Chris mumbled.

     “What was that?”

      “Uh, the hamsters,” Chris said, turning his laptop to show Victor Phichit’s Instagram. “Hey, I bet this is your Yuuri, unless Phichit knows two…” Chris yelped as Victor practically scrambled into his lap in an attempt to see the picture. It showed a grinning Phichit pulling another dark-haired man with blue glasses and big brown eyes into the frame. He was smiling, even though he was being forced into a selfie.

      “Oh,” Victor breathed as his mind attached all of his conversations with Yuuri to this image. Chris nudged him lightly with his shoulder.

      “Still breathing there, Vic?”

      “Uh, um, yeah, of course, I’m fine.” Victor swallowed hard. “So what do I do? About Phichit knowing, I mean?”

      “Well, I don’t see that you have to _do_ anything, though I would advise answering him, he seems persistent,” Chris said.

       “I agree with you there. I’m just not sure how much I want to tell him…” Victor mused.

       “I mean, there’s not much he could do with the information… even if he leaked it, there’s really no way to connect your tumblr or AO3 back to you, which is assuming anyone would care in the first place, as you do have plenty of social media platforms already,” Chris pointed out.

      “That is true…” Victor said thoughtfully. “I think it might be best to be honest with him, and he did say he wouldn’t tell Yuuri…”

      “You still don’t know what you want, do you?” Chris asked with a sigh.

       “I do too! I just want to be his friend, and I want him to like me for, well, being me, not just because I’m a best-selling author he admires!”

      “Uh huh, just keep telling yourself that, sweetie. Are you planning to tell him who you really are, then?” Chris watched a flurry of emotions cross his friend’s face.

      “I…I don’t know. Yuuri is… safe right now. Talking to him is…easy. I don’t want to lose that, Chris. Talking to him, I remember why I love to write, what it feels like to be passionate about what I do. I… don’t want to scare him off I guess. But if he knows who I am… he might not want to talk to me anymore,” Victor said sadly.

     “If you haven’t scared Yuuri off yet, I’d say you’re pretty safe,” Chris told him gently. “But, I see where you’re coming from. So, what are you going to tell the nosy little hamster lord?”

     “The truth, I guess.”

 

***

vkusno-writing-crush:

       Hello, Phichit! I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to respond, your message caught me off guard. To answer your question: You’re not wrong.

vkusno-writing-crush:

       I am Victor Nikiforov. But I’d appreciate if you kept that to yourself.

LordOfTheHamsters:

        !!!!!! REALLY!!!!! HOW DID YOU END UP READING YURI’S FIC?!?!?!?

vkusno-writing-crush:

       I’ve been blocked, and my friend Chris suggested I try reading fan fiction.

vkusno-writing-crush:

       He showed me AO3, and that’s where I found Yuri.

vkusno-writing-crush:

       Though I would like to ask: How did you figure it out?

LordOfTheHamsters:

       Guessing mostly. And Yuri freaked out a bit when v-nikiforov started commenting on his fic, and I started thinking, what if it really was Victor Nikiforov…

LordOfTheHamsters:

       And being a good friend, I read all the comments on Yuri’s fics, and you write like Victor Nikiforov.

LordOfTheHamsters:

       Being a science guy, I look for patterns.

vkusno-writing-crush:

       Does Yuri know?

LordOfTheHamsters:

       Of course not. I wouldn’t bring it up unless I knew for sure.

vkusno-writing-crush:

       Could you not tell him?

LordOfTheHamsters:

      But why?

vkusno-writing-crush:

        I want to tell him myself, but not yet.

vkusno-writing-crush:

        I don’t want to spook him.

vkusno-writing-crush:

            At least not any more than I have already… Chris tells me I come on too strong sometimes.

LordOfTheHamsters:

            I could see that. I saw the reblogs. But, I’ve decided I like you, Victor Nikiforov. I’ll keep your secret, as long as it doesn’t interfere with my best friend agreement with Yuri. Because he’s been my bestie since college, and I WILL choose him over you. J

vkusno-writing-crush:

            Duly noted. Thank you, Phichit.

LordOfTheHamsters:

            Any time! I’m sure this is the start of a beautiful friendship!

 

***

 

ice-ice-giacometti:

            My turn to give the best friend shovel talk. I’m the ‘Chris’ Victor mentioned. Be nice to him, ok? He’s more invested in things than the interviews make him seem.

LordOfTheHamsters:

            Got it! With that out of the way, can we talk about our friends? Because they need help. And I feel like we are ideally positioned to, ah, give them a little push, if you will…?

ice-ice-giacometti:

            You really are a Slytherin, aren’t you?

LordOfTheHamsters:

            Bahahaha, and you are a total Potterhead if that’s the first thing you go to. I like it. But back to the subject at hand: you down?

ice-ice-giacometti:

            I’m down.

LordOfTheHamsters:

            This is going to be brilliant!

 

***

_Jonah cradled Aubrielle in his arms. If he lost her too, he might shatter. He couldn’t afford to shatter._

_“Don’t leave me,” he whispered desperately, clutching her closer. “You’re the only thing grounding me, even if I don’t deserve it, even though I have nothing to offer in return. I guess… I guess that’s what love is. I love you. Please, please don’t leave me.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on tumblr @onceandalwaysenglishmajor!


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